Eli's BBQ Restaurant Review

: The first thing you should know about Eli's is there's a real record player inside where a needle still runs over the vinyl. Music is big here. But initially, you have to find the place, and that will require looking for a big black sign with a pig on it rather than the name of the restaurant. Everybody knows this is Eli's, where they use a pizza slicer on the grill to run through sizzling pieces of pulled pork. Picnic tables outside fill when the weather is warm, and diners bring their own beer, listen to music, and dot the lawn with picnic blankets. The menu is simple: $5 sandwiches or $8 plates. It's your choice of pulled pork, smoked turkey, ribs or Nathan's all-beef hot dogs. Plates come with two sides: macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, baked beans, creamy Southern coleslaw, jalapeño cheese grits or jalapeño cornbread. Pulled pork is 20 hours in the making, with hickory-smoked meat slapped with a vinegar mop on the grill. Mashed potatoes are buttered, mashed, seasoned and lightly browned when you order them. And you can't find Southern cheese grits like this in most parts of Ohio.